


Baking Tradition

by FFlove190



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, holiday fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:35:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28307604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FFlove190/pseuds/FFlove190
Summary: Sephiroth and Cloud are baking up a storm this holiday season.
Relationships: Sephiroth/Cloud Strife
Comments: 3
Kudos: 32
Collections: 2020 FF7 Secret Santa





	Baking Tradition

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sephcounttheways](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sephcounttheways/gifts).



The timer pinged. Sephiroth paused in the middle of mixing the next batch of cookies to look at the oven. 

"I got it!" Cloud's announcement was joined by a scattering of sprinkles. 

"I'm closer," Sephiroth just watched Cloud pick his way through the kitchen. As the cookie swarm continued to increase, the gift boxes had been moved to the floor. It was a perilous journey to take the cookies from the cooling rack to the icing station. 

"You leave them in until they're burnt," Cloud wasn't quite rolling his eyes as he equipped the chocobo print mittens. 

"If they're burnt we can't give them away." Sephiroth went back to mixing. He didn't really want to say that he just liked Cloud visiting his side of the kitchen. "You're the one who said we can't eat the dough."

"You're missing the point," Cloud opened the oven to reveal another platoon of perfectly baked pine trees. Once Cloud was finished with them they would be beautiful enough to hang. These he put on the cooling rack, and in the oven went a tray full of what would be ornaments. "It's fun to bake knowing that everyone we care about will be eating our cookies."

"True. And we've gotten quite efficient at it." They weren't quite an industrial machine but Sephiroth was sure they'd get there with practice. 

"Ha. You're right." Cloud set the timer on the oven and stood back up. "Probably be even more efficient if you would stop making more cookies and help me frost the rest of them."

"Why not? The more cookies the better." Plus the longer the oven ran the sweatier Cloud began. There was just something about watching Cloud concentrate, sweat on his brow while he painted sweaters on ginger bread men, that Sephiroth couldn't get enough of. 

"And you wonder why I keep expanding the number of people we give cookies to." Cloud shook his head like he was exasperated, but his smile said otherwise. He wrapped his arms around Sephiroth’s side and examined the bowl. "Are those more sugar cookies? We're over quota now, aren't we?"

"Hm. These aren't for the quota." Sephiroth had  _ plans _ .

"Oh? Is this your annual secret cookie?" Cloud bumped their hips together. "That’s so impressive. How are you going to cut them this year?"

"You'll find out." Sephiroth promised. You might say that Sephiroth had learned how to make elaborate cookies just to see Cloud's quiet wonder when he opened his own holiday box. And you would be right. 

"Hmm." Cloud quirked a brow. Sephiroth's eye was drawn to the smear of green frosting on his forehead; it had been there so long that it had already hardened. "I'm sure whatever it is will be as amazing as you."

"No, they'll be even better." Largely in part because they'd be edible and made out of sugar. Sephiroth angled his head to give Cloud a proper smile. 

"You talk a big game," Cloud's laugh smelled like sugar. "I'm looking forward to it."

"You better be." 

They paused for a moment, just like that. Cloud's arms were bare and hints of powdered sugar were caught in his arm hair along with dots of food coloring that would take days to get off. He was wearing an apron that paired with Sephiroth’s: frilly greens and reds that tried, and failed, to be more festive than Cloud's icing creations. 

Sephiroth leaned down to press a kiss to Cloud's cheek. There weren't words to express just how content he was in  _ creating _ with Cloud. It wasn't like Sephiroth hated how they usually spent their time, but there was nothing quite as fulfilling as standing side by side with Cloud and baking cookies. 

"How is the army looking?" Sephiroth said. 

"The gingerbread men are all frosted," Cloud said with all the formality of a report. "The last squad is still drying. The snowflake platoon is ready and waiting."

"So we're all on schedule, then?" Sephiroth surveyed the aftermath: cookies piled all over the counter half frosted and half not. There were still a few batches waiting to be baked. All in all it was the promise of more time in a cramped kitchen with Cloud. 

"And once you're done with that," Cloud nodded at the batter, "you can help me with the snowflakes." His voice dropped low when he added, "I know how much you love frosting the snowflakes."

Sephiroth loved frosting them because snow always reminded him of Cloud. They met the first snowfall of the season. Sephiroth could still remember the way Cloud's lashes had caught every flake, and how bright his eyes had been with the white highlight. 

"Indeed I do." Just as much as he wanted to bake these cookies, he always wanted to sit thigh to thigh with Cloud and fight over who got to use which frosting color.

"We're such suburban husbands." Cloud laughed. "I still can't believe we're using our day off to do all this."

"Why? It's tradition." They'd been doing it for years now. Though, it was probably Sephiroth’s fault they were baking as many cookies as they did. At first he'd just wanted to try new types of cookies, and then Cloud had partitioned their jobs into baking and icing, and now they were here. 

"It's just so peaceful, idyllic, sugary sweet." Cloud shrugged. "Sometimes I'm just overwhelmed that it's all real."

"And you kiss me with that mouth," Sephiroth leaned down to kiss Cloud even as he said it. 

This kiss, like so many of their kisses, was so soft. It felt so perfect kissing Cloud. Sephiroth had never thought of himself as incomplete until they met, hadn't realized there was so much he was missing. Cloud must been sampling his wares; Sephiroth could taste the cream cheese frosting on his lips. 

"Just let me savor the moment." Cloud sighed and leaned further into Sephiroth’s side. "We're in love and baking cookies."

"Yes, we are." Sephiroth kissed him again. "And we'll never finish if you keep savoring the moment after every batch comes out of the oven."

Cloud shrugged. "Shut up. You know you love it."

"You're right," Sephiroth laughed. "I do."

They kissed again before Cloud went back across the kitchen to the frosting station. In twenty minutes they would do it all again.

Sephiroth looked over at Cloud mixing another batch of icing. Yeah. Cloud was always right. Sephiroth adored this. 

The only thing better than this was that night, hours later, when Sephiroth presented his special cookie to Cloud. It was a stained glass cookie and the sugar work he'd spent so much time on simply said "I love you.' Cloud's face had crinkled in quiet amazement and the kiss they shared, like all of them, was perfect. 


End file.
